First4Solar Bewertungen 372

It is now over 1 year since I paid the first deposit for solar installation by first4solar. They failed to honour multiple installation schedules. HEIS certificate mentioned in contract was never received. They took second staged deposit payment while notifying me in writing that they are about to dispatch the kit to be installed. It was untrue. They put up dangerous scaffolding around my property which is still in place now for about 3months and no installation has happened. It is blocking some doors which can't open. Kids bump onto the scaffolding and cannot be allowed to run/play around or ride any toy or tricycle around the house in spring! it is a safety issue and first4solar don't seem to appreciate potential accidental consequences. Despite several non-returned calls and emails to first4solar, there is still no action. 50% total deposit taken.
The last failed schedule for installation was 4/4/23. They did not even make any contact with me on the day as was the case with previous multiple failed schedules.
Good luck

Very poor service and communications. After repeated delays through the cold weather I cancelled the order was then contacted by the director, gave them another chance, they could not install in time. Then the director offered the refund which I accepted on the 13 of March 2023 (over £3k) was told it would take 14 days but he (the director would try and put a rush on it once they received my bank details.
27/3/23 no refund nor reply to messages
30/3/23 reply from director he will chase it up for me
1/4/23 (Friday) I was told I would be refunded Monday
6/4/23 messaged director to ask which Monday I should expect the refund
17/4/23 messages the director what is happening with the refund
Again no answer
18/4/23 another message sent with no answer and no refund.
So tomorrow I will be taking matter further.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!! I paid a deposit in March 2022, told it would be installed in 6 weeks. Hundreds of calls later, 11 cancelled installation dates, excuse after excuse I have never recurved anything except thin air. No one cares and even when was told could cancel for immediate refund, again it's all lies!!!! DON'T FALL FOR THIS, GO WITH A PROPER COMPANY.

You have been warned you won't ever see your goods or money ever again!!!!

2 months since cancelling my order and following multiple promises of the deposit being repaid by Daniel Hawkins, still nothing....
He and his father David are scammers who will not deliver / refund when you have cancelled.

They are pure scum of the earth.

Same problem as everyone else pay deposit then get let down time after time thank god I paid with my credit card company is now using an answer service to take all there calls as they don't want to speak directly to customers

Ordered panels and batteries in February 2022, paid deposit March 2022 and everything was great until then. In total 6 cancelled installation dates always cancelled when I called the night before as they never contact you. Lost count of the unanswered emails and phone calls, this company will NEVER call you back or reply to emails, Dan and Jake are the worst to deal with. After having my deposit for over a year, all the hassle and cancellations they decided on the 7th March 2023 to fully refund me and give compensation, apparently this would take 14days but after speaking to David ( owner of F4S) he would get this pushed through quicker. Unfortunately and without much surprise this did not happen, I received it 28 days later only after having to get advice from trading standards. I've still not received any compensation like they promised. Please do not believe a word this company says, during my dealing with them I've never heard them be truthfully and towards the end I started getting everything by text or email so I had evidence because I knew I was going to need advice on getting my deposit back. Please dont use First4Solar, read the reviews first.
I am so glad I went with a different company, within 3 weeks from first contact I had my solar fitted. Good luck to anyone who has paid a deposit and is still waiting, my advice is seek advice from trading standards, get your deposit back and go elsewhere.

Well, it seems that a lot of people have had similar experiences. Waiting times, no call backs, cancellations, bogus installation dates that were never intended to be attended either due to no stock or being “short staffed”.

Our experience is covered by all of above. But there’s one thing I haven’t mentioned. There is 1 & only 1 person that has been 100% truthful & thats Louise on the sales team, once the deposit was paid all other staff were either painting their nails or sat with their big wads of cash that they were taking from people & not fulfilling their installation date promises.

Anyway, 15 months from first contact & still no panels on the roof, but we did get our deposit back after some prodding of the owner. Also waited on some compo for my days I booked off work & received half of what it cost me to be off so still out of pocket.

I would suggest that if you are in no hurry for an install or like speaking to staff that have no interest in their customers then First4solar are for you.

I have just had a 20 x jenko panels and give energy convertor and battery installed and i am super happy with the whole process. Delivered within the timescale they promised and they went above and beyond with the installation. Everyone I have spoken too and met where spot on. I understand people have had issues, I was also a little concerned having read recent reviews however people should appreciate that the demand for these services have sky rocketed since the increase in utility costs, paired with China being shut down for 5 months where most of the kit is manufactured, sometimes issues are going to happen. I have and would recommend first for solar to anyone looking for a system, ours is already paying for itself! 25kw generated and its only 15:00 thanks!

First4Solar are offering good products at goods prices. Unfortunately they just do not seem to be able to deliver. Deposit paid May 2022 and first installation then planned for July, then September then November etc.
Perfectly nice team once you get through to them but the business appears to be overwhelmed which means you will need to ask for updates and you will be constantly disappointed.
My case has recently been escalated to director level but latest date has been missed again and I have completely lost faith.
Look elsewhere.

Avoid this company! Same story as everyone else. We paid our deposit in July last year and heard nothing after the initial survey. Finally got an installation date in February which was cancelled the day before. We were promised to be contacted with a new date the following week but heard nothing. After numerous calls unreturned Jessica promised an installation date by the end of this week. Still nothing. I’ve asked for the order to be cancelled. We’ll see how long it takes to get the money back but I’m preparing the CCJ papers just in case. Martin

If you're reading this please take note of these poor reviews. It doesn't seem worth your time to engage with this company.

Check other sites like Google reviews and you'll see similar themes when changing the review order from 'most recent' to the 'most relevant' default order. You may even find they where briefly struck off as MCS certified.

It is stressful, exhausting and simply not worth it in my view.

The details below are as factual as I could make them. I'm upset with the company however my experience should speak for itself without writing anything unfair.

The company promise install date then don't turn up (8 or 10 times now).They offer call backs and then don't do it on most occasions.

Different excuses I've had are:

-Supply chain
-Weather
-Staff sick
-Van broke
-Staff of maternity leave
-Staff at emergency dentist
-Another job ran over

I'm happy to accept stuff can happen in life but this is something else.

Everything after initial deposit and survey it is a massive effort and hassle in terms of me chasing everything. I've even called to confirm an install due the next day and they'll seem surprised over the phone or may ask what exactly they need to do.

I dealt with install manager Jake quite a lot and he'll respond to missed install dates over the phone by saying things like 'we'll slide you in early next week. Is that OK?'. Or 'Are you free late this week?'.

You then invariably don't get email confirmation (when requested) and the team magically don't turn up. I started asking for the names of the installers he's sending which surprisingly can't be produced on demand.

It's almost like they'll promise anything to get you off the phone.

To summarise:

-I've lost almost a year to this
-Projected install was September 22
-First fixed install date was Nov 22 (didn't happen)
-Parts of work were done in March and it still isn't turned on
-The team realised my roof hadn't been measured properly in my survey which meant my system design was smaller than I'd have otherwise ordered
-The fitters prepped for a slate roof which I don't have.
-Fitters turned up with the wrong battery and solar panels which I had to point out myself.

I accepted a price adjustment on the day just to keep things moving which is basically the retail price difference of the hardware. Again, I see that as the customer being flexible to accommodate their mistakes.

Patience and understanding is key with these people however it doesn't pay you back in my view.

A big worry I had is that they were struck off as MSC certified earlier this year and later re-certified. It is concerning this happened at all as they can't complete installs and connect to the grid without it.

Director Daniel Hawkins said he'd sort it some weeks ago and that didn't happen. He assured me my install would be finished on Wednesday this week and hay no it was a no notice no show.

I'm honestly at a loss as what to do now. Every fresh chance I've given them has flown back in my face. I can only expect I can write a formal complaint to MCS, NAPTI and HIES. Honestly, I don't think it's fair I'm pushed to that as it wastes more of my time.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!

Started July 2022, to get a solar panels and a battery fitted. Was told it would be in before December 2022. However due to the surveyor 'forgetting' to process my design, I had to follow up 3 weeks after the fact to confirm what was going on. Was told give it a couple of weeks and the design team will get back to me.

After many weeks of waiting to get an install date, I was informed on the lack of material for install will have to be postponed yet again. Then the Ukraine war kicked off, and again install date had to be moved. We are now in February 2023, I finally got in contact with someone to get a 'confirmed' date of installation - the 3rd April 2023 (Monday). The Friday before the date was informed YET AGAIN the install wasn't going to happen, and to call them to rearrange.

Now by this time the final straw has been added. The bosses son rang me to try and keep my business and apologise for the delays and with a new offer. However I have had enough by this point. I told him directly for a refund. Was told to email for confirmation of the fact and they will process it ASAP.
9 days ago I emailed for a refund and guess what... Nothing. Nothing has been said to me since, I have rang multiple times over the course of nearly 2 weeks of trying to get someone to actually process my refund, however their silence and disrespect clearly knows no bounds.

I have waited this long to write this review, so please don't use them, you don't deserve what I've been through and is going through right now. Save your money and time, go somewhere else.

I paid my deposit in September 2022. This also provided me with 3 months Deposit Protection Insurance with HIES.
1. When I was given an installation date of 5,6 April 2023 I requested that my 3 months Deposit Protection Insurance with HIES be extended as the installation was more than 6 months away. I was assured that it would be extended but HIES tells me that my deposit is no longer insured.
2. I rang several times in late March 2023 to see why I haven’t been requested to pay the 40% ‘on receipt of goods’ payment and to confirm the installation date. I was told that the invoice would be raised and that the installation date was still 5,6 April 2023 and that someone would get back to me urgently. I didn't receive an invoice and no one got back to me.
3. On 4th April, less than 24 hours before installation was due to start, I was informed that the installation will not take place and that Jessica will call me next week with a new date. I email first4solar with my concerns but have not had a response; Jessica still has not called me; and when I rang the office today I was told that 'no one is in the office'.
I accept that delays can occur, but why couldn’t I have been given notice as soon as you first4solar knew that there was a delay as I made sure I would be at home for the confirmed installation dates?
Why haven't I had any response to my phone calls and emails.
Update 14/04/2023
I've just had a response from Jessica and my new installation date is 3rd July 2023 - another 3 months! I have been offered a discount on my order for the poor service I have received. First4solar have just appointed a Customer Relationship Manager, Robert Atkinson, who also called me today and will be my point of contact until Installation is complete.

I ordered a GivEnergy battery in August 2022. After a bit of chasing I got an install date of the 8 Feb which was cancelled. I had to phone to find out it wasn’t going ahead.

I’ve been phoning and chasing since and had little response or reply. I’ll update this review if anything changes.

—Update 14/04/2023–

As promised Jessica contacted me today and provided a new date of the 6 June. I’ve updated the score and will update the review in June.

—Update 5/5/2023–

Sent a message via the new ticket system. No response, can’t call them anymore as it’s an answering service. Doesn’t look good.

Hi first 4 solar, I can see why you are getting these reviews! I hope that this is not an accurate representation of what’s going on within the business! PLEASE can you contact me, I’ve sent a number of emails and no one has responded to my queries or worries !

Going forward I will update this review as and when my order progresses. This should help any prospective customers or those perhaps experiencing Similar issues . Installation is due to take place next month and I hope that will be the case. Due to the experience received so far I will be only giving this a one star, and will review if the experience becomes more positive, but I also will be giving a more in-depth review of my experience shortly. Watch this space !

And most importantly can someone from first 4 for solar respond to my emails !?

UPDATE-14/04/2023, I have received contact from First 4 Solar, another install date given to me. I sincerely hope they stick to it this time. I really am willing this company on to do well ! But so far I've not been given confidence. I will update nearer the date of install with progress, at that point I will update with how I proceed and this may give others insight too. Fingers crossed but not holding my breath.

We paid a deposit for our solar panels in July 2022 and still have not had them installed!! I stopped counting missed installation dates after the 7th one... When you get through to them on the phone they assure you of their best intentions and then let you down all over again! The lack of customer service is shocking, the excuses for missed installations are poor (driver is sick....so no one else is available to drive???). I was promised a call back on Thursday last week and that was the last I heard from them.
I just want my solar panels installed. I have neighbours who have had their solar panels installed (this year!) within 4 months of first enquiry with other companies. I would advise anyone thinking of getting solar panels installed to keep away from First4Solar. They are great up to the point you pay your deposit and then it all goes down hill.
Maybe they will respond after reading this review...will post an update.

Update Monday 17th April
I called F4S after posting my review and had to call 3 times before being able to speak with Keely last Thursday. She got Daniel to call me and he advised that my panels would be installed the next day. I was a little hopeful that this would actually happen but was later informed by their new customer services guy , Rob, that this wasn’t going to happen. However, it was now booked in for Monday (today) and he would check in on Saturday….needless to say no check in on Saturday and surprise surprise no installation team this morning (actually not a surprise!) Apparently it’s now happening tomorrow… Again, I only know this because I reached out to Rob this morning via text and received their response at 9.17am. Will update on whether they turn up but I’m not holding my breath.
I forgot to mention (probably because it now feels like part of my home) that the scaffolding was put up 4 weeks ago!!

Update 19/04/23
Needless to say my solar panels still have not been installed. The new guy, Robert, who promised to improve communication (and installation on Monday), failed to respond to my text messages and even hung up on me and is now not answering my calls. What a sham of a company.
PLEASE, PLEASE KEEP AWAY FROM FIRST4SOLAR!!!

A friend and myself first put an order in for solar packages in Nov 22 and paid a 4000 pound deposit which is money i received compensation after being medically discharged from the military. I planned on using the rest ready to pay on completion of the job.

At the time Daniel told us that the date for installation would be March 23.
After numerous calls towards the end of March I finally got an email from Keely saying installation would take place on 03 April.
Halfway through the day i called F4S and asked why no one had turned up only to be met with an excuse from someone in customer services who said that they would get Jake the installations guy to call me back.
Eventually Jake called me back at the end of the day and made up more excuses about having been off the week before and now trying to get through 600 emails. After a lengthy discussion he said my Installation would take place the end of this week but would confirm by 06 April.
As before no call or email arrived and so I called F4S three times only to be put on hold for 20 mins and then to be told no one was available to discuss the issue from the installation team.
Just attempted (11/04 @ 10am) again to call and speak to Jake and again he is unavailable to discuss anything.

At this point i am considering involving Trading Standards and possible legal action for Fraud.
This situation has meant that my stress and anxiety levels have been raised and is not contributing to me not sleeping and worrying about if the work is ever going to be completed or am i going to lose the money i have already paid.
F4S started off so well with all the quotes and the survey and have now massively lost my confidence by the lack of communication and integrity by not having the common courtesy to even let me know that no one would turn be turning up to to install the product i ordered. I had taken the day off work as well so that the fitters could have access.

My advice to anyone who is looking to get Solar installed at present is to look for another company!

Update to this review:
On Monday a roofer turned up but could not start the installation due to the fact no scaffolding or equipment had arrived at location.

I was assured that this would be rectified and that the installation would take place today.

So yesterday a team of guys arrived and erected the scaffolding and again an email confirming installation would begin this morning.
It is now 1030am and no one has arrived nor has anyone called to say what is happening.

I have tried to call Daniel on is mobile number, The office number which now goes through to a messaging service, I have emailed both Daniel and a member of staff and still no reply.

I have moved meetings and my work schedule around to accommodate the installation times i have been given.

Think it’s time to speak with Trading Standards and my card company to get a refund. Because all i keep getting is lies from this company.

Update 26/04/23

As per above have tried to get in touch with Daniel and Keely to process refund but no one wants to answer emails.

Have spoken to credit card company and they are currently going through process for a refund.

Let’s see what happens from here!

It’s about time people took notice of these reviews!
There doesn’t appear to be anyone at the company, who is actually prepared to tell the truth!
IMHO, if the management want their staff to lie to customers on their behalf, the least they should do, is make sure that everyone tells the same lies.
Deposits are taken, but then the lies begin, which range drastically from the implausible, to the absolute ludicrous.
It’s a shame that none of the management are afflicted with Pinocchio’s disease, as if they were, they’d be able to start their own timber business, and leave the Solar industry to companies that not only have professionalism, but consideration for their customers!
Good luck in winding up the business like all your other failures. At least it will stop people suffering the inconsequences of your actions. Enough is enough!

Another shocking experience with First4Solar. We ordered in June 2022, paid a large deposit and have had several cancelled installations. When they cancel they do not give you a new date they just leave you for weeks. I cancelled our contract with them 2 weeks ago and asked my credit card company to get a refund which they have done. It was only once I had done this that I received a phone call from the MD which I did not take as I did not want to listen to the list of poor excuses. I have never experience such poor customer service in all my life. They take your deposit and that's it. I have now signed up with another company and have been given an install date of 4 weeks so I urge you all to cancel your contracts as it's just not worth the stress trying to deal with this company

AVOID this company at all costs.
Once they have your money ( in my case £2900 ) that will be the beginning of your journey to nowhere.
Phone calls to them will be full of promises which are never kept.
Emails to them will be ignored, unless you are asking for a refund.. and then they will do their utmost to get you to change your mind and so hold on to your money.
Thankfully I realised I was being taken for a ride early on, and asked for a refund within the 14 day cooling off period.
Yet again after giving them the benefit of the doubt first4solar stayed true to form and ignored my emails, therefore NO refund from them.
I eventually got my money back through my credit card company.
Unfortunately there are still a lot of people like myself that give money to these unscrupulous companies without doing adequate research.
I wish now that I had read the reviews on Trust pilot as it would have saved me a lot of time, stress and MONEY.
AVOID PLEASE.